Practical

How to perform central venous pressure measurement

Central venous pressure (CVP) is very useful for monitoring the effects of fluid therapy in critical patients. It is used to detect hypovolaemia and hypervolaemia, which is particularly important when...

How to manage wound drains

There are numerous types of wound drain systems available for use in small animal practice. Four of the most common types in use will be covered in this article: Penrose, Jackson Pratt, Redon and...

How to apply a foot bandage

Foot bandages are applied for a number of reasons, cut pads being one of the most frequent. Other reasons include as a first aid treatment for the control of foot haemorrhage, post-operative support...

How to care for and maintain flexible endoscopes

Endoscopes are made up from very delicate components including fibre optics which are arranged in high precision, well ordered coherent optical fibre bundles, charged coupled device chips and small...

How to measure blood pressure: direct and indirect techniques

The veterinary nurse (VN) should be knowledgeable with regards to the normal ranges of blood pressure (BP) in dogs and cats, the physiological effects of anaesthesia on BP and consequences of...

How to place and manage indwelling urinary catheters

There are many complications that can arise during or after the placement of an IDUC. These complications should be considered before placing an IDUC in a patient and should be monitored for...

How to create a rabbit friendly practice and run a successful rabbit clinic

Although domesticated for decades, rabbits' behaviour has changed little, and they are easily frightened, and quickly stressed. The effects of stress are significant and can lead to heart failure and...

How to perform dental prophylaxis to reduce periodontal disease

Preventive dental care is an important part of health maintenance, and many modern companion animal practices have staff dedicated to dentistry procedures. As with human dentistry, veterinary nurses...

How to effectively manage an infected wound

Antibiotics do not remove the burden of protein rich material and the potential contributing factors that may have encouraged infection in the first place. Bacteria present in a wound at high levels...

How to record and interpret an electrocardiogram

An ECG records the electrical activity (depolarization and repolarization) of the cardiac muscle, as it pumps blood around the body..

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics for VNs: 2

Generally, in order for a drug to exert an effect on the body, the drug must bind to a receptor. The word ‘receptor’ can be used to describe all target molecules for drug binding, and it is used in...

How to produce diagnostic orthopaedic radiographs

The use of a standard technique will ensure the production of diagnostic quality radiographs (see the Step-by-step guide)..